CBN Chief Says Injection of N6.06trn into Economy May Trigger Hyper-inflation

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Director, Monetary Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Moses Tule, has expressed concern that the implementation of the N6.06 trillion 2016 budget could trigger a hyper-inflationary trend in the economy.

Tule predicated his concern on the fact that the budget was only signed in May and became implementable the same month, leaving the government with “only seven months to run the budget”.

His seven months prognosis however runs counter to the fact that the National Assembly injected a clause in the Appropriation Act that in spite of being signed in May, this year’s budget should run a 12-month cycle.

The CBN chieftain, who presented a paper in Abuja on Thursday on “Evolving the Most Sustainable Framework for the Nation’s Fiscal and Monetary Policy Regime and Budget Administration,” said it would be difficult for the government to inject over N6 trillion into the economy within a period of seven months without triggering hyper-inflation.

At the forum, which was the inaugural edition of the Nigerian Economic Stakeholders Summit (NESS) with the theme, “The Nigerian Economy: Navigating a Sustainable Landscape,” Tule said the budget was huge enough to be injected into the economy in seven months without igniting a hyper-inflationary trend.

He pointed out that monetary, fiscal, policy and budgetary coordination among relevant stakeholders was desirable to achieve a stable economy.

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